Tennis: King Turner back for Davis Cup tie

Dan King-Turner has returned to the New Zealand Davis Cup side for the first time since 2010 for the upcoming Asia/Oceania group I round one tie against Uzbekistan in Tauranga next month.

The 27-year-old missed most of 2011 with an ankle injury but combined with New Zealand No 1 Michael Venus to reach the semifinals of the doubles at the recent Heineken Open in Auckland and is likely to team up with Venus in the doubles against Uzbekistan.

King-Turner and Venus will be joined by Artem Sitak and Rubin Statham, who has an 18-4 singles record for New Zealand, for the tie.

"It's a good solid team with some firepower and plenty of Davis Cup experience," New Zealand captain Marcel Vos said. "Mike has some big weapons and has shown he can match it with the best on the day. Rubin has been a passionate and reliable performer for New Zealand with a great Davis Cup record. Artem is a true professional with great work ethic and has added a lot of depth and team spirit to our team."

Uzbekistan beat New Zealand in the same tie last year in Uzbekistan 3-2. The Uzbek team is likely to feature world No 60 Denis Istomin and Farrukh Dustov, who has a current ranking of 261.